Proud to say Georgia

Since 1851, 25 governors of Georgia have been graduates of Georgia. At least 17 UGA alumni are presidents or provosts of colleges and universities in the U.S. Nine UGA graduates have received the Pulitzer Prize. Four UGA alumni have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Undergraduate Admissions

The University of Georgia is a national leader among public universities in the numbers of major scholarships earned by our students. We have had eight Rhodes Scholars since 1995. In the same period, our students have won 46 Goldwater Scholarships. UGA students have earned 12 Truman Scholarships since 1995, and each year we have multiple recipients of major national scholarships.

Graduate Admissions

Continuing Education

Whether you are looking for personal improvement, seeking a credential or wanting to change your career path, the University of Georgia Center for Continuing
Education delivers a variety of educational programs to meet your learning needs.

International Students

The University of Georgia has approximately 180 International Cooperative Agreements (ICAs) in over 50 countries. These agreements allow for the formal
development of activities such as faculty and student exchanges, collaborative research, seminars and workshops, and/or service programs.

Research at UGA

The Office of the Vice President for Research encourages and supports UGA research, scholarship and creative activities by assisting with the recruitment of research-intensive faculty, and providing infrastructure for sponsored research. We help to move UGA innovations into the marketplace, encourage research-based economic development, and ensure responsible conduct in research.

Centers & Institutes

UGA research addresses real-life problems, including the grand challenges associated with water, food, fuel, environment and health. It also enriches the soul through the arts, humanities and social sciences. OVPR's Interdisciplinary centers, institutes and research initiatives provide enhanced interactions and focus on advanced areas of research.

Student and Postdoctoral Research

Undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars are critical to the successful pursuit of research and scholarship at the University of Georgia. They contribute in multiple ways to research and scholarship in the physical, life and social sciences, as well as the arts and humanities.

PSO Units

For more than 80 years, PSO has led the University in bringing its resources to each of Georgia’s 159 counties, 500+ cities, and around the world, serving more than 110,000 individuals annually to improve the quality of life in Georgia and beyond.

Service-Learning

The University of Georgia has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for its institutional commitment to community engagement through teaching, research, and public service with the Community Engagement Classification. UGA was one of only 115 colleges and universities to achieve this elective classification in 2010 and joined the ranks of only 311 institutions nationally.

Campus Life

Student Affairs is a primary point of contact for students through more than 600 registered student organizations; student programming groups; social
fraternities and sororities; student leadership programs and volunteer services; and international and multicultural programs.

Health & Recreation

The 440,000-square-foot Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Student Center for Physical Activities is one of the largest and most comprehensive fitness/exercise facilities for students and faculty in the country.

Get Involved

In 2000, UGA was the first university in the nation to organize a collegiate Relay For Life. It raised more than $115,000. UGA Relay now has over 3,200 student volunteers and has raised more than $2.3 million, benefiting The American Cancer Society.

Academic Units

Students and faculty pursue arts studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The Special Collections Libraries provide access to materials related to the history and culture of Georgia, while the Willson Center and ICE promote Interdisciplinary inquiry and creative activity in the arts.

Focus on Faculty

Cari Goetcheus

Cari Goetcheus, an associate professor in the College of Environment and Design, tries to instill in her students the value of giving back to the community within which they will live.

Where did you earn degrees and what are your current responsibilities at UGA?

I received an associate in applied science degree from the State University of New York-Cobleskill, emphasizing landscape design, horticulture, soils, bugs, etc.; a bachelor of landscape architecture and environmental planning degree from Utah State University; and a master of historic preservation degree from the University of Georgia. All of this training has led to a specialization in cultural landscape management—combining history, ecology, design, planning and management. My current responsibilities include teaching graduate courses in historic preservation, advising thesis students and managing the UGA-CED Cultural Landscape Laboratory (http://www.ced.uga.edu/public-service/cultural-landscape-laboratory/).

When did you come to UGA and what brought you here?

The first time I came to Athens was as a graduate historic preservation student in the early 1990s. I chose UGA because the then School of Environmental Design had a collection of faculty who were national and international experts in the emerging field of cultural landscapes, and I wanted to learn from them. After 20 years of experience in the private, public and academic sectors, I returned to Athens in fall 2010 to teach and manage the Cultural Landscape Lab, essentially continuing the tradition of the CED being a leader in cultural landscape training.

What are your favorite courses and why?

Two courses that I enjoy teaching are “Rural Preservation” and “Cultural Resource Assessment.” I am passionate about the conservation and preservation of the built environment and the full breadth of cultures that crafted them, and these courses introduce natural and cultural resource conservation theory and practice.

What interests you about your field?

By observing and studying the physical environment of a place (the ecosystem, buildings, land uses, fence lines, rows of trees, formal gardens, vernacular yards, orchards, etc.), you can begin to “read” clues about how a place has been manipulated over time, which makes history come alive. Beyond knowing those aspects on an individual research level, through planning, design and management, those clues can be revealed to the public through various means of interpretation for a more comprehensive understanding of a historic site.

What are some highlights of your career at UGA?

Based on the groundwork laid by colleagues Eric MacDonald, CED Dean Dan Nadenicek and others, the UGA College of Environment and Design’s Cultural Landscape Lab has established numerous partnerships to assist organizations with the long-term management of significant cultural landscapes such as the 2,000-acre Stratford Hall, boyhood home of Robert E. Lee; Wormsloe, the Savannah plantation of the first surveyor in Georgia, Noble Jones; and Cobb County, location of an intact Piedmont Farm from the late 1800s. While I’ve managed the CLL, these partnerships have continued and additional grants have provided opportunities for students to work on projects at the Blue Ridge Parkway, Fort Sumter National Historic Monument, Cowpens National Battlefield, Kings Mountain National Battlefield and several national seashores. I’ve also been pleased to add cultural landscape-specific courses to the historic preservation graduate curriculum, many of which are open to students across campus.

How does your research or scholarship inspire your teaching, and vice versa?

My teaching pedagogy emphasizes student access to real-world projects so that students can gain experience interacting with historic sites and the people/organizations who manage them. As much of the CLL research emphasizes nationally significant historic sites, I try to craft class exercises that take advantage of access to those sites, while allowing the students to explore new approaches to problem solving.

What do you hope students gain from their classroom experience with you?

At a minimum, I hope that students gain insight into the importance of conserving cultural landscapes as historic resources—not just historic buildings. Further, I hope that each class period at least one student leaves class thinking, “Geez, that class really made me think today.”

Describe your ideal student.

My ideal student is one who is not afraid of asking questions—and has done the readings so there can be a lively discussion in class!

Favorite place to be/thing to do on campus is…

I really like walking around this beautiful campus, North Campus especially. There are so many great nooks and crannies to explore everywhere.

Beyond the UGA campus, I like to…

… take “blue highway” road trips, attend antique auctions and listen to all kinds of live music. This past summer, I did a road trip to the Mississippi Delta in search of the blues—heard some great music, met some funky folks and had a great time. As I enjoy music, dance and the arts, Athens, and the South in general, are great places to explore.

Community/civic involvement includes…

I try to instill in my students the value of giving back to the community within which they will live. Currently, I am partnering with the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation and Athens-Clarke County to document Beech Haven, a greenspace recently purchased by the county government along the Middle Oconee River that has a vernacular arts and crafts house and numerous unique cultural landscape features and heirloom bulbs.

Favorite book/movie (and why)?

One of my favorite movies is “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart. I appreciate it simply because it is a testament to the everyday moments that make up a life.